TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer says you can't ignore the positive outlook of Phillips-Van Heusen's CEO.

Can you be as bearish about retail if the company that has almost half the dress shirt business in the country, the one that has more than half the neckwear in this country, the one that has more than 600 stores and is in Kohl's (KSS) (Cramer's Take), Wal-Mart (WMT) (Cramer's Take), Sears (SHLD) (Cramer's Take) and just about everyone else, tells you that things are booming?

TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer says the world's economies are getting too strong to obey these downgrades of Intel and TI.

When Wall Street starts looking at tech companies as they would industrials -- as they should be scrutinized -- then we will not get downgrades like Bank of America/Merrill's takedowns of Intel (INTC) (Cramer's Take) and Texas Instruments (TXN) (Cramer's Take).

The essence of these two downgrades is the looming inventory correction that everyone has feared from $14 a share onward for Intel and $18 for Texas Instruments at the start of the summer. At every step I have heard of this coming breakdown, the double ordering and the decline in demand as one analyst after another has warned us of the apocalypse around the corner.

Analyst upgrades:

• FBR Capital upgraded U.S. Bancorp (NYSE: USB) and New York Community Bancorp (NYSE: NYB) to Market Perform from Underperform to reflect a new valuation framework. The firm raised its target on U.S. Bancorp to $21 from $14 and on New York Community Bancorp to $10 from $9.
• Stephens upgraded Insulet (NASDAQ: PODD) to Overweight from Equal Weight to reflect the company's top-line growth prospects and reasonable expectations. The firm raised its target on shares to $14 from $8.
• Baird upgraded Athenahealth (NASDAQ: ATHN) to Outperform from Neutral and raised its target to $46 from $37 based on expectations for revenue and gross margin expansion, and relative valuation.
• Broadcom (NASDAQ: BRCM) was upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Barclays.
• Phillips-Van Heusen (NYSE: PVH) was upgraded to Buy from Neutral at BofA/Merrill.
• Reliant Energy (NYSE: RRI) was upgraded to Conviction Buy from Neutral at Goldman.

Analyst upgrades:

• Citigroup upgraded Phillips-Van Heusen (NYSE: PVH) to Buy from Hold following the company's Q1 results as it believes management is executing well in the current environment and that the company could meet the high end of guidance. The firm raised its price target to $24 from $19.
  
• Friedman Billings upgraded Cliffs Natural (NYSE: CLF) to Outperform from Market Perform as it believes capacity utilization has stabilized and CLF's valuation is attractive at current levels. The firm raised its price target to $27 from $23.
  
• Thomas Weisel believes demand at Microchip's industrial (NASDAQ: MCHP) customers has troughed and that market share loss concerns are unwarranted. The firm upgraded shares to Overweight from Market Weight and raised its target to $27 from $19.
• CBS Corp (NYSE: CBS) was upgraded to Neutral from Sell at Goldman.
  
• U-Store It Trust (NYSE: YSI) was raised to Outperform from Neutral at Baird.
  
• Ener1 (NASDAQ: HEV) was lifted at Banc of America/Merrill to Buy from Neutral.

Analyst upgrades:

• ING upgraded Roche (OTC: RHHBY) to Buy from Hold as it believes Roche will not pay more than $100/share for Genentech (NYSE: DNA) and that the Avastin adjuvant data due April 2009 provides significant upside potential.
  
• Oppenheimer upgraded Motorola (NYSE: MOT) to Outperform from Perform on valuation as it believes sentiment is at an all-time low and the stock has limited downside. The firm set a $5 target on shares.
  
• Morgan Stanley upgraded Comerica (NYSE: CMA) to Equal Weight from Underweight citing valuation that adequately reflects credit deterioration in its commercial-heavy loan portfolio and aggressive government action.
• Cheesecake Factory (NASDAQ: CAKE) and Nucor (NYSE: NUE) were upgraded to Buy from Neutral at Goldman.
  
• Pinnacle Entertainment (NYSE: PNK) was raised to Overweight from Equal Weight at Barclays.

This post is part of our Ads Gone Bad series. Share your thoughts and memories of this ad in the comments, and be sure to check out our other posts on marketing gone wrong.

In 1995, Calvin Klein had clawed back from the verge of bankruptcy and was poised for expansion, hoping to jump into the top tier of mass-merchandised high fashion. Apparently, somebody forgot to tell the marketing department, which was happily rolling out yet another over-the-edgy ad campaign. When the offal hit the fan, it covered the whole company with a foul stench.

The campaign in question featured videos set up to resemble screen tests for low-budget skin flicks. Young men and women stood in front of cheap wood paneling, the kind one might find in the rec room of an 8mm director wannabe. These kids are interviewed by an unseen older adult, who asked them provocative questions and made suggestive comments about their physiques.

Oppenheimer downgraded Lehman (NYSE: LEH) from "out perform" to "market perform," according to Briefing.com. The news service also writes that Baird downgraded Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) to "underperform" from "neutral."

S&P put Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) and Lehman onto its negative watch list, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Lehman Brothers cut its profit estimates on Phillips Van Heusen (NYSE: PVH).

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

They say that politics makes for strange bedfellows. So does retailing. For example, there is a New York outfit with subsidiaries that include the largest selling shoe maker in America, a well-known creator of trendy fashions, an equally well known maker of sports knits and the number one dress shirt producer in the world.

Phillips-Van Heusen (NYSE: PVH) markets clothes, sunglasses and shoes for men, women and children under its Van Heusen, Bass, Calvin Klein and IZOD brands. It also sells items under licensed names and private labels. Products are distributed to wholesale clients and through the firm's own outlet stores, which operate under the names of its various brands. Customers include Kohl's (NYSE: KSS) and JCPenney (NYSE: JCP).

The company pleased investors late last month, when it announced Q2 EPS of 70 cents and revenues of $552.4 million. Analysts had been looking for 62 cents and $540.6 million. The CEO noted that all PVH businesses experienced revenue and earnings growth, despite recent challenges in the overall retail environment. Management also guided Q3 EPS to $1.02-$1.03 ($1.02 consensus), Q3 revenues to $705 million ($652.29M consensus), FY08 EPS to $3.15-$3.17 ($3.10 consensus) and FY08 revenues to $2.44 billion ($2.42B consensus). Lehman Brothers and Wedbush Morgan subsequently reiterated "buy" ratings on the issue and declared price targets in the $69-$70 range.

Phillips-Van Heusen (NYSE:PVH) sells clothes, sunglasses, and shoes for men, women, and children under its Van Heusen, Bass, Calvin Klein, and IZOD brands, as well as licensed names and private labels. Products are distributed to wholesale clients and through the firm's own outlet stores.

The company pleased investors late last month, when it announced Q3 EPS of 89 cents and revenues of $568.3 million. Analysts were looking for 84 cents and $563.7 million. Management also guided Q4 EPS to 43 cents (43 cent consensus), Q4 revenues to $528-$532 million ($483.70M consensus), FY07 EPS to $2.59 ($2.53 consensus), FY07 revenues to $2.06-$2.07 billion ($2.01B consensus) and FY08 EPS to $2.97-$3.05 ($2.92 consensus).

The CEO cited strength in the Calvin Klein brand and growth in the retail outlet and wholesale sportswear businesses for success. Four brokerages subsequently reiterated "buy" ratings on the issue and declared price targets in the range $56-$62.